Compact Bulldog Bone

123Craig said:
It's like you've just read my mind with this question stheis... I finally wanted to ask a question along the lines of this..

Mine came with a pre grooved spine, and on average I've only used mine about once a week for 2 years - at that rate it might take around 14 years to wear out - ha!

I am curious to know of others spine wear rates though? - and how many times they've 'flipped' the spine? - and whether they had to pre groove it? Ect

Also wonder whether the newer aluminum spines will have a faster wear rate? - and how fast that may happen?
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I also bought this one slightly used so yeah, either way, you've got some life left in yours haha
 
The wear rate on the spine depends on the climbers weight and how clean the the rope is.
So far two years daily use seems to be about average on the spine before it begins to slip on rope. (All the spines have been and continue to be aluminum). I have heard of users flipping the spine, but I would recommend just getting a replacement. The groove in the spine eases the passage of the rope on ascent, and helps align the rope centered on the spine on descent. The high carbon steel friction link pin is remarkably resistant to wear, as shown in the picture.
 
surveyor said:
That Tending point looks OK to me. I have wondered if the lockjack swivel part would fit at the bottom attach point, but have never had one to try.
Is the stubby Bone working well for you, and if so what rope are your using? @skello Thanks Gordon
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Also curious to hear more about the Stubby CBB. Can the Stubby be fitted with an adjustable bollard up top? Thx Gordon!
-AJ
 
Since the stubby uses the same top arms as the bottom arms, it does not have an adjustable bollard. I make it with the 5/8 " bollard with a 1/2" bearing inside, so you can potentially remove the 5/8" bollard and use the 1/2" bearing bollard instead, but you would likely find that it slips even on a fatter rope because the pivot length on the stubby top arm is shorter than the adjustable Bulldog Bone.
 
I’ve recently gotten an adjustable BDB but am having trouble dialing it in. I’m around 220lbs w/o gear so I’m suspecting that’s part of the issue. I’ve got it adjusted wide open and have difficulty releasing smoothly on every line I’ve tried - Vortex, ivy, xtc and cougar. Any like-sized climbers resolved this issue with the BDB? Do you guys find that it needs some breaking in before it runs smooth?
 
MikePowers321 said:
Anyone have an experience with Teufelberger X static 11.7 and the Adjustable Bone?
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Yeah dude.
I'd rate it 6/10.

Xstatic is basically an 11.7mm version of KMIII Max, in my opinion. The 11mm KMIII Max runs wonderfully in a well-adjusted BDB. Despite having a similar jacket "feel" as KM3 Max, Xstatic seems to be a less 'agile' - it feels heavier and clunkier. Even though it's a bit thicker and it tends to stay round, Xstatic didn't have the greatest hand. No how much I adjusted the bollard on the bone, I could not find a sweet spot.

Xstatic worked better for me with the rope wrench. Just my 2 cents.

I'm very picky about ropes and I'm constantly buying/trying new lines....I'm on an endless quest to find the best climbing rope (for me, at least). I probably have at least a dozen 120-150ft hanks of climbing rope haha.

KMIII (green) has been the best performer thus far in the BDB, with Kernmaster Hedera 11 at a close 2nd.
 
Treetopflyer said:
I find that hard to digest
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Does it require some break in time? I tried it on vortex, ivy, cougar and xtc and had to use substantial force compress the ‘bird’ to get it to release for me. It’s fine for moving around the tree but for descent in the canopy, I haven’t found its sweet spot. I have the bollard fully open, too. Thanks for any insight/advice.
 
@fish73; I don't own the Compact Bulldog Bone (yet), but I'm wondering if adding a friction device like a Figure 8 low alongside your hip might take some of the load off of the Bone and give you a better experience on the long descents?

If it worked, it would provide the safety of having a device that automatically grabs the rope to stop you if your hand were to get bumped off of the Figure 8 accidentally.

Also, forgive me if you've mentioned this already, but you have tried going in the other direction and closing the Bone bollard up tighter, haven't you? Like I say, I don't own one, so I'm just trying to run through all of the possible options, just in case the answer is counterintuitive.

Another experiment I would want to try would be to use a knee ascender to push my weight up slightly to "unload" the Bone so much, and see if that makes it easier to break it free. The problem with that idea is that you'd still need to be able to get the knee ascender off the line shortly thereafter. This is something I would attempt "low and slow", not while high in the tree, on the first attempt.
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EDIT: I just thought of a possible answer, that eliminates the problem of getting the knee ascender off of the rope. Try using a foot lock to push yourself up the rope a little bit, while at the same time pulling down on the Compact Bulldog Bone's release lever. Then just let the rope slip through your feet once you get going. I bet this will work; I don't know why I didn't think of it first.
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That's all I can think of. Thanks for listening.

Tim
 
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TimBr said:
@fish73; I don't own the Compact Bulldog Bone (yet), but I'm wondering if adding a friction device like a Figure 8 low alongside your hip might take some of the load off of the Bone and give you a better experience on the long descents?

If it worked, it would provide the safety of having a device that automatically grabs the rope to stop you if your hand were to get bumped off of the Figure 8 accidentally.

Also, forgive me if you've mentioned this already, but you have tried going in the other direction and closing the Bone bollard up tighter, haven't you? Like I say, I don't own one, so I'm just trying to run through all of the possible options, just in case the answer is counterintuitive.

Another experiment I would want to try would be to use a knee ascender to push my weight up slightly to "unload" the Bone so much, and see if that makes it easier to break it free. The problem with that idea is that you'd still need to be able to get the knee ascender off the line shortly thereafter. This is something I would attempt "low and slow", not while high in the tree, on the first attempt.
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EDIT: I just thought of a possible answer, that eliminates the problem of getting the knee ascender off of the rope. Try using a foot lock to push yourself up the rope a little bit, while at the same time pulling down on the Compact Bulldog Bone's release lever. Then just let the rope slip through your feet once you get going. I bet this will work; I don't know why I didn't think of it first.
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That's all I can think of. Thanks for listening.

Tim
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@TimBr thanks for your thoughtful reply/suggestions. I randomly found (30-40 pages back on this thread) that there does seem to be some break in needed. I’m used to my RR & HH and have them fairly well dialed in, where their release is smooth and controlled. And I’m sure there was a learning curve with them that I’ve all but forgotten. I decided to hang on to the bone and give it more time to break in and for us to develop a friendship.
 
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Rico The Bone I make is the compact adjustable Bulldog Bone. I do have a few Stubby Bones out there, but with only limited feedback, I would recommend definitely the adjustable Bone for you.
I was talking with a local arborist who is using a very early Bone, nearly 4 years old, and it is still going strong. I would caution that while he and many others bomb out of normal size local Oaks etc. from time to time, the Bone will heat up on descent. To the best of my knowledge the Bone has not been used in a Redwood.
 
Every device I have used heats up to some extent, and I’m sure the Bone is no different. I don’t do much bombing out of trees these days, so we will leave that to the youngsters. It’s high time we got a BDB up in some Reds!

I will be in touch tonight with the disclaimer form and a paypal payment. Thanks for all your help, and I am really looking forward to flying the BDB!
 
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